In a continuing effort to improve the quality of shipping fruits, I, the inventor, typically hybridize a large number of peach, nectarine, plum, apricot, and cherry seedlings each year. I also grow a lesser number of open pollinated seeds of each of these fruits. The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of plum tree, which has been denominated varietally as ‘Sweet Majesty’.
During the 2003 blooming season I placed paper grocery bags over several branches of a ‘Purple Majesty’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 7,503) plum. When the flowers of this tree neared full bloom, I removed one such bag and applied pollen from ‘September Yummy’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 14,220) plum to the visible pistils. Following this pollen application I immediately replaced the bag to keep the flowers isolated from other sources of pollen during the blooming period. After petal fall, I removed the bag and allowed the fruit to mature. Upon reaching maturity the fruit from this plum tree was harvested and the seeds were removed, cracked, stratified and germinated as a group with the label “7P865 BAGS SY”. They were grown as seedlings on their own root in my greenhouse and upon reaching dormancy transplanted to a cultivated area of my experimental orchard located near Le Grand, Calif. in Merced County (San Joaquin Valley). During the summer of 2006 the claimed variety was selected by me as a single plant from the group of seedlings described above. Subsequent to origination of the present variety of plum tree, I asexually reproduced it by budding and grafting in the experimental orchard described above, and such reproduction of plant and fruit characteristics were true to the original plant in all respects. The reproduction of the variety included the use of ‘Nemaguard’ (unpatented) rootstock upon which the present variety was true to type.
The present variety is similar to its seed parent, ‘Purple Majesty’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 7,503) plum by being self-unfruitful and by producing fruit that is dark purple in skin color, that is yellow to orange yellow in flesh color, that is clingstone in type, that is firm in texture, and that is very sweet in flavor, but is distinguished therefrom by producing fruit that is larger in size, globose instead of oblate in shape, and that matures about fifty days later.
The present variety is similar to ‘September Yummy’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 14,220) plum by being self-unfruitful and by producing fruit that ripens in the late season, that is firm in texture, that is mostly globose in shape, that is mostly yellow in flesh color, and that is very good in flavor, but is distinguished therefrom by producing fruit that is dark purple in skin color instead of red, that is clingstone instead of semi-freestone, and that matures about fifty days earlier. It is to be noted that the patent for ‘September Yummy’ plum describes a first pick date of Sep. 10, 2002. Since the filing of that patent, it has been established that the average commercial first pick date is closer to October 10th.
The present variety is similar to ‘Angeleno’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 2,747) plum by being self-unfruitful and by producing fruit that is dark purple to black in skin color, that is clingstone in type, and that ripens in the late season, but is distinguished therefrom by producing fruit that is sweeter in flavor, that possesses and maintains much more juice, that is larger in size, and that matures about ten days earlier.